HIGH SCHOOL NOTEBOOK : Montclair Prep Returns From Victory Tour

No football team in the region knows better the meaning of on the road than Montclair Prep.

The regular season is at its halfway point and the Mounties (5-0) have yet to play in front of a home crowd. Tonight’s game against Mar Vista of San Diego is Montclair Prep’s first of four consecutive home games at Valley College.

The team has traveled about 1,200 miles, making trips to Gardena, Playa del Rey, Bloomington, Santa Maria and Holtville--about 50 miles this side of Yuma, Ariz., and only a few miles from the Mexican border.

Apparently, the long trips did not slow the Mounties on the field. Montclair Prep has outscored opponents, 219-90.

While Montclair Prep Coach George Giannini is glad the road work is behind him, he is quick to point out that the Mounties made the most of their time together.

“We always try to have a team lunch at 2 p.m.,� Giannini said. “It just so happened that on the Holtville trip, we were at Del Mar (about that time), so we stopped there (for lunch).�

ALPHA LEAGUE

Travel, Part 2

If any team can begin to understand the travel woes of Montclair Prep, it’s former league rival Village Christian.

The Crusaders have made trips to Trona, which is 20 miles beyond Ridgecrest, and Mojave. But the travel-weary Crusaders aren’t finished yet. Next week, Village Christian will head into the desert again, this time to Boron, located 40 miles east of Mojave.

“We’re getting our frequent-flier miles, that’s for sure,� Village Christian Coach Mike Plaisance said. “We have no choice. It’s getting harder and harder to find schools our size to be competitive with.�

*

Village Christian running back Jake Funk may lack speed, but he compensates in power.

Funk, a 5-foot-10, 170-pound junior who rushed for a school-record 234 yards last week against Trona, is at his best after he gets hit. To the Crusaders, Funk is the defending YAC Champion. In layman’s terms, Funk last year amassed the most Yards After Contact. Of his 485 yards rushing last season, 211 were gained after the initial hit. That was more than the Crusaders’ leading rusher, Tarik Blair, who ran for 1,120 yards.

“He’s not as fast as Tarik, but he has two things going for him,� Plaisance said. “He has excellent balance and better-than-average leg drive.�

The Crusaders (4-1) are riding high on the legs of Funk, who has rushed for 649 yards in 129 carries.

“He’s like a pinball or a bowling ball. It takes more than one guy to bring him down,� Plaisance said.

MARMONTE LEAGUE

A Dorm Room Divided

The lines have been drawn. And the good-natured trash-talking is flying fast and furious.

Nevada freshmen football players and roommates Eric Bennett and Jason Toohey have playfully shelved their friendship this week because of the Simi Valley-Newbury Park game tonight. Bennett was an All-Southern Section quarterback at Simi Valley and Toohey was an All-Southern Section receiver at Newbury Park.

Bennett and Toohey plan to attend the game, in which Bennett’s younger brother, Tim, is expected to start at quarterback for Simi Valley. The walls in the Nevada dorm room are adorned with maroon and gold (Simi Valley’s colors) and black and gold (Newbury Park’s colors) stickers and banners.

“We’ve been talking trash all week,� Toohey said. “I keep telling him, ‘Eric, we’re going to blow you guys out,’ and he says, ‘Man, you guys are going to be blown off the field.’

“Really, we’re just having a lot of fun. We’re both looking forward to it.�

Said Bennett: “We’re real fired up. The winner gets to talk the most trash until next year.�

*

Jim Smith, the former boys’ track and cross-country coach at Agoura High, was a busy man Thursday afternoon as he simultaneously announced the boys’ freshman football game between Thousand Oaks and host Agoura along with the cross-country meet between the Chargers and visiting Thousand Oaks and Channel Islands.

Last year, Agoura Coach Bill Duley designed a cross-country course that starts and finishes on the track in Agoura’s football stadium and he solicited Smith’s help in announcing.

“We figured it would increase the crowd size for both sports,� Duley said. “Freshman football doesn’t typically get large crowds and neither does cross-country, but together, we figured the crowd would be a decent size.�

Because of the design of the cross-country course, spectators in the football bleachers can see most of the three-mile race.

“It’s kind of like a three-ring circus for Jim,� Duley said. “But he adds a lot of color with his announcing and the kids seem to like it.�

*

The Simi Valley girls’ volleyball team was “slammed� recently, and it had nothing to do with losing a match.

Pioneer Coach Jerry Garon suspended six players--three on the varsity, including one starter--for keeping a “slam book,� in which players anonymously write disparaging comments about teammates and an assistant coach.

“The team was being ripped apart,� Garon said. “I realized that the reason we weren’t playing well wasn’t a physical thing or a talent thing, it was a mental thing where the girls didn’t trust each other or enjoy being out on the floor with each other.�

Garon suspended the players indefinitely, but after team members met over dinner to try and rectify the situation, Garon reinstated the six for Tuesday’s match against Westlake after they sat out a weekend tournament and Monday’s win over Camarillo.

“It might help us in the long run,� Garon said. “Now maybe they’ll go out and have fun and let their talent take over.�

GOLDEN LEAGUE

Jack-of-All-Trades

Going to a Palmdale game? Can’t seem to locate senior Albert Lairson?

First, check the end zone. He caught eight passes last week for 166 yards and three touchdowns. And if he isn’t there, he could be just about anywhere.

Palmdale Coach Jeff Williams says Lairson (6-3, 185 pounds) has played the following positions the past two seasons: wide receiver, linebacker, strong safety, fullback, defensive end, punter and kicker.

Lairson, a straight-A student who scored 1,000 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test as a junior, does everything but call the plays. “Believe me, he’s tried that too,� Williams cracked.

PACIFIC LEAGUE

Hoover Runner Emerges

Eliazar Herrera is a senior at UCLA and Margarito Casillas is a freshman at Arizona, but the Hoover boys’ cross-country program appears to have another elite runner in the making in freshman David Lopez.

Lopez won the Division I frosh-soph race in the Kenny Staub Invitational at Crescenta Valley Park on Saturday. His time of 16 minutes 24 seconds over the three-mile course shattered the previous freshman meet record of 16:46 set in 1981.

In comparison, Casillas--the 1992 state Division I cross-country champion--ran 17:06 at Crescenta Valley Park as a freshman, and Herrera--runner-up in the 3,200 meters in the 1990 state track championships--timed 18:11. Hoover Coach Greg Switzer is quick to point out, however, that Herrera and Casillas did not make their big breakthroughs until their freshman track seasons.

“It’s a little early to be comparing times because Eliazar and Margo did not blossom until track,� Switzer said. “But David is very talented and very motivated. He spent a lot of time running with Margarito at our (training camp) this summer and he sees where he wants to go.�

FOOTHILL LEAGUE

Smooth Ride at Saugus

Saugus and Hart will square off tonight in what could be the Foothill championship game in Week 1 of league play. Both teams have 4-1 records, tops in the Foothill. Saugus was picked to finish third at the outset of the season, but while four other teams in the league have endured turmoil, the Centurions have enjoyed a smooth ride.

“We try to keep it that way,� Coach Jack Bowman said. “I hope that helps us.�

Canyon is in a state of disarray with Coach Harry Welch having considered a midseason resignation. Hart has endured a rash of injuries, Burbank had a coaching shake-up and Burroughs is in a transition year with a new coaching staff. With everything peaceful on the Saugus front, can the underdog Centurions sneak in and take the title?

“I think our chances are good,� Bowman said. “I think every team has distractions, but we seem to have less than the other teams.�

*

Week by week, Hart’s gain of Mike Kocicka is becoming more a loss for Crescenta Valley. Kocicka is on pace to pass for more than 2,000 yards and 16 touchdowns.

The senior transfer from Crescenta Valley--a first-year starter--has thrown for 1,081 yards and eight touchdowns. He also leads the Indians in carries (55) and rushing touchdowns (five).

NORTHWEST VALLEY

Classic Performance

El Camino Real struck a rare blow for City Section girls’ volleyball Saturday, upstaging some of its more heralded Southern Section counterparts by winning the Royal Classic.

The Conquistadores defeated Royal, 15-13, in the championship match after beating Louisville and Long Beach Wilson.

“We don’t waltz in here saying, ‘Poor little El Camino Real,’ but not many schools know who we are,� Coach Lori Chandler said. “You’ve got to prove yourself.

“When we came out of pool play, we did everything right and played what I think is up to our capability--which I think is pretty good.�

Conquistadores standout Jessica Dinaberg, a leading candidate for City 4-A player of the year, was named the tournament’s most valuable player.

El Camino Real is 8-0, 5-0 in Northwest Valley Conference play.

*

Nice compliment. We think.

Sportscaster Pete Arbogast of KNX Radio, a longtime supporter of City Section athletics, threw his support behind Chatsworth boys’ basketball Coach Sandy Greentree during Saturday’s USC-Oregon football broadcast.

Sort of.

Arbogast reportedly called Greentree, whom he has known since the coach’s tenure at Marshall High, “one of the best recruiters in high school basketball.�

Recruiting players, of course, is a state rules violation.

VALLEY PAC-8 CONFERENCE

Names to Remember

A “no-name� team it isn’t. If there’s one thing the Poly girls’ volleyball squad possesses, it’s memorable names. Names and wins.

The Parrots (5-1, 3-1) have a quartet of key players with exotic monikers--Gisela, Xochilt, Iaisha and Loyda (their last names are a bit tamer: Dagnino, Ordonez, Flores and Munoz, respectively).

Dagnino, a 5-9 senior and All-City 3-A selection last year, tallied 50 kills in two matches last week. She sparked Poly to wins over Birmingham and Monroe, both previously undefeated, and her 28 kills against the Vikings were a Poly record.

Around the Leagues. . . .

* Newbury Park’s scoring average actually dropped after a 36-0 rout of Channel Islands last week. The Panthers entered the game averaging an eye-popping 50 points. They now average 47.2. Newbury Park’s points-allowed average also dropped from 12.2 to 9.8.

* Channel Islands is the only area team without a running back who has more than 100 yards rushing. Mookie Boyd leads the Raiders with 72 yards in 22 carries.

* Guess which of the four area Mission League teams has the most yards rushing. It’s unheralded Harvard-Westlake, with 1,142. The Wolverines are 4-1 and have outscored opponents, 163-57.

* St. Francis’ rebuilding has been stalled by injuries to its two best players, lineman Ben Kadletz and defensive back Bob Aubrey. Kadletz suffered a stretched medial collateral ligament in his right knee. He will miss at least three weeks, Coach Bill Redell said. Aubrey will miss at least two weeks because of a severe groin pull.

* Hoover’s Hung Huyn, the team’s leading rusher, will miss his second consecutive game with an injury to his left knee. He said he expects to be back next week.

* Glendale’s Jay Register is averaging 22 yards a punt return.

* At least three area schools have a husband-and-wife duo coaching their volleyball teams. At Montclair Prep, it’s Ken and Jeannine Smith. At Thousand Oaks, it’s Ron and Molly Beick. At Royal, it’s Bob and Sandy Ferguson.

“As coaches, we have to spend a lot of time in the gym,� Ron Beick said. “So when we get to spend time together, it’s a bonus.�

Kennedy Cosgrove and staff writers Steve Elling, Jeff Fletcher, Dana Haddad, Paige A. Leech, John Ortega and Jason H. Reid contributed to this notebook.

State Career Rushing Leaders

Buena High running back George Keiaho is moving up the list of all-time rushers in California, according to Cal-Hi Sports. Here are the top 10.

Player,School Years Yards David Dotson, Mmo Vly. Valley View ‘89-91 7,257 Russell White, Crespi ‘86-88 5,998 Eliel Swinton, Montclair Prep ‘90-92 George Keiaho, Buena ‘90-93 5,878 Ray Pallares, Valencia ‘83-85 5,397 James Kidd, Elk Grove ‘89-91 5,385 Tyreese Knox, Serramonte/Jefferson ‘80-83 5,217 Craig Johnston, Whittier Christian ‘73-75 5,213 Steve Tetrick, L.A. Baptist ‘70-72 5,181 Markeith Ross, Buena Vista ‘88-90 5,158